Tag Archive for: Ernest Hemingway

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Snow In Literature: Cross Country Snow

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By Ernest Hemingway

(This is an excerpt from the short story which appeared in the collection In Our Time (1927). To read the complete story, click here.)

The funicular car bucked once more and then stopped.  It could not go farther, the snow drifted solidly across the track. The gale scouring the exposed surface of the mountain had swept the snow surface into a wind-board crust. Nick, waxing his skis in the baggage car, pushed his boots into the toe irons and shut the clamp tight. He jumped from the car sideways onto the hard wind-board, made a jump turn and crouching and trailing his sticks slipped in a rush down the slope.

On the white below George dipped and rose and dipped out of sight. The rush and sudden swoop as he dropped down a steep undulation in the mountain side plucked Nick’s mind out and lift him only with the wonderful flying, dropping sensation in his body. He rose to a slight up-run and then the down, faster and faster in a rush down the last, long steep slope.  Crouching so he was almost sitting back on his skis, trying to keep the center of gravity low, the snow driving like a sand-storm, he knew the pace was too much. But he held it. He would not let go and spill. Then a patch of soft snow, left in a hollow by the wind, spilled him and he went over and over in a clashing of skis, feeling like a shot rabbit, then stuck, his legs crossed, his skis sticking straight up and his nose and ears jammed with snow.

George stood a little farther down the slope, knocking the snow from his wind jacket with big slaps.

“You took a beauty, Mike,” he called to Nick. “That’s lousy soft snow. It bagged me the same way.”

“What’s it like over the khud?” Nick kicked his skis around as he lay on his back and stood up.

“You’ve got to keep to your left. It’s a good fast drop with a Christy at the bottom on account of a fence.”

“Wait a sec and we’ll take it together.”

“No, you come on and go first. I like to see you take the khuds.”

Nick Adams came up past George, big back and blond head still faintly snowy, then his skis started slipping at the end and he swooped down, hissing in the crystalline powder snow and seeming to float up and drop down as he went up and down the billowing khuds. He held to his left and at the end, as he rushed toward the fence, keeping his knees locked tight together and turning his body like tightening a screw brought his skis sharply around to the right in a smother of snow and slowed into a loss of speed parallel to the hillside and the wire fence.

[Editor Note: On April 5, PBS stations will be airing a new, three part series by Ken Burns and Lynn Novick on Hemingway, who was an enthusiastic skier in Europe in the 20s. SeniorsSkiing.com previously published an excerpt from The Snows of Kilimanjaro, describing skiing in the Voralberg.]  

 

Jon Weisberg

My Sun Valley Serenade

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A few rides on the lift can say a lot about an area. At Idaho’s Sun Valley I was reminded of its friendly vibe and older population of very good skiers.

Sun Valley with Ketchum and Baldy in the background

Anyone reading this knows Sun Valley is one of America’s oldest and most celebrated resorts. In the late 30s to the 60s/70s, Sun Valley helped establish the glamor of skiing by attracting celebs like Ernest Hemingway, Gary Cooper, Clark Gable, and Ingrid Bergman. The 1941 romantic comedy, “Sun Valley Serenade” starring Olympic skater Sonya Henie; actor, John Payne, and bandleader, Glenn Miller (“Chattanooga Choo Choo” was one of its songs), is played 24/7 on a resort TV channel.

All of that might be lost on Millennials, but as part of the SeniorsSkiing.com demographic, the importance of Sun Valley should not be lost on you.

It’s the location of the world’s first chairlift. It’s where Warren Miller spent his post-WWII years, and it was and continues to be home town for Olympic champions such as Gretchen Fraser and Picabo Street.

Sun Valley is the resort community adjacent to the town of Ketchum. There are two places to ski: Bald Mountain, in Ketchum, tops out at 9,150′ and has 2,054 acres of almost every type of terrain. At a lower elevation (6,638′), Dollar Mountain mixes terrain parks with blues and greens.

The day of my visit, I got an early start; parking at the River Run lot and taking a short, downhill stroll to the lodge. At the drop-off area there’s a fleet of fat tire wagons to carry equipment the short distance to base lodge. For the most part, Sun Valley’s day lodges are posh and serve excellent food. Restrooms are as nice as in a fine hotel; well-maintained, private stalls, and high-end fixtures. One minor downside is that typically they’re at the bottom of a flight of stairs.

The gondola goes to mid-mountain, where you have access to the rest. From there, I chose a chair that got me close to the top of Warm Springs, the face with more than 3000′ vertical.

About 6″ had fallen overnight and the run, first on black, then blue, was a great way to start. Back at the top, I headed down a ridge where sun-exposed snow was starting to firm. Several chairs and runs later, I stopped in Seattle Ridge Day Lodge to rehydrate and enjoy the great views.

Baldy is about to expand by 380 acres. Cold Springs Canyon, a steep pitch adjacent to Seattle Ridge, is expected to open next season with a new detachable quad.

The cost of skiing Sun Valley is a mixed bag. Seniors (65+) can purchase lift tickets in advance for $89 a day, significantly less than $135 for the youngsters. But there are no senior discounts for season passes. Sun Valley is a Mountain Collective participant. That pass includes two day passes and 50% off the price of subsequent days. If I planned to ski there five or six days, I’d probably use Mountain Collective, currently selling for $409.

I stayed at the newly remodeled Sun Valley Inn. My room was large and tastefully decorated. Off the lobby is the beautiful and understated Ram Restaurant. The menu is diverse, the room has a casual elegance, and the service is excellent. Hemingway could still be perched at the bar.

The Pioneer Saloon

In Ketchum, about a mile down the road, is The Pioneer Saloon, the classic bar and meatery that has been attracting locals and visitors for decades. One evening I met friends at Sawtooth Brewery for first-rate pub food and beer.

Delta, Alaska Airlines, and United have daily direct flights to nearby Hailey from Chicago, Denver, Seattle, Portland, LA, San Francisco, and Salt Lake City.

 

Sun Valley, America’s first destination ski resort, is a classic. I know it’s on a lot of bucket lists. But, like Warren used to say, “Why wait another year? You’ll only be that much older.”